The Fine Tuned Universe – A Primer

Let’s Start With … The Laws Of Nature

Our lives, our planet, our place in space and, indeed, the whole universe are subject to a known and fixed set of laws called the laws of nature or the laws of science. For example, there’s Newton’s laws of motion and gravity, Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, and the laws dictating the conservation of energy, momentum and electrical charge. On the right is a 3 minute video of Stephen Hawking discussing the laws of nature using an analogy that’s easy to understand – classic Hawking.

Dr. Hawkings Conclusions in the Video:

• The laws of nature are unchanging and describe how things work in the past, present and future
• The laws of nature are universal applying equally to planets, tennis balls and everything else
• The laws of nature can’t be broken

As it turns out, there are literally piles of natural laws that apply to matter in the universe. Here’s a short discussion of some of the more common natural laws – as a very quick lesson or refresher: https://www.thoughtco.com/major-laws-of-physics-2699071. And, for those who want to dive deeper, here’s a much more complete list of natural laws including some “theories” and “principles” that are often treated as laws: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_science.

In case you overlooked the Wikipedia article cited just above, go ahead and quickly skim thru it.  One key insight you’ll notice, apart from the heavy math content, is that all those laws governing our universe can be stated with some simplicity and, figuratively, can be shown on 1-2 pieces of paper.  Just think about that for a bit.  How crazy is it that a couple dozen mathematical formulas can be used to describe how the vast universe functions?  It’s mind-boggling that each formula is so concise and elegant.

Conclusion

• The universe operates according to a somewhat short set of natural laws
• Each of these laws is described mathematically using very concise and elegant formula
• It’s incredible that the whole universe can be described by a set of simple mathematical formulas written on 1-2 pieces of paper!